Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to shoe organizers and particularly to shoe organizers for closets that store matched pairs of shoes in a minimized volume of space.
Desirably, for longer shoe life, shoes should be stored on shoe trees so that the bottoms are stretched in a generally flat fashion and wrinkles are minimized in the toe box of the shoe.
An age-old problem faced by shoe owners is how to store shoes in matched pairs in a minimum volume of space, in a manner which allows quick access to the shoes. The problem is compounded when the owner has more than one pair of shoes.
Unorganized shoes always seem to wind up in a random pile. In such situations it is extremely difficult to find a matched pair quickly. It is also noted that shoes in a pile appear to take up a greater volume of space than shoes which are neatly stacked. While reasonable attempts can be made to maintain loose shoes in neat grids on a floor or shelf, such organization arrangements require a dedicated area per pair of shoes. Any attempt to stack loose shoes in a stack will eventually result in an unorganized pile. Similarly, attempts to remove loose shoes from the bottom of the shoe stack will also result in a pile of loose shoes.
Shoe organizer devices fall into two categories--horizontal shelf or floor organizing devices and vertical organizing devices, which are often hung on a vertical surface or from a closet hanger rod.
One type of known horizontal shoe organizer is a shoe box. One or more pairs of shoes may be stored in a box and a plurality of boxes may be stored in matrix-like fashion. Removal of one box from the box matrix disturbs the entire array. Another type of horizontal organizer is a partitioned container or plurality of partitioned shelves.
Known vertical-type shoe organizers include partitioned containers or flat sheets having pockets for insertion of shoes therein. These vertical organizers are attached to a vertical surface, such as a wall or door, or they are hung from a closet hanger rod.
Compartmentalized horizontal or vertical organizers in and of themselves require purchase of separate shoe trees, if the shoe owner wants to stretch the shoes for longer shoe life.
Another type of known shoe organizer has a pair of fixed-length shoe holders attached to each other in opposed fashion, so that the toe of one shoe is proximal the heel of the other shoe, with the sole portions of both shoes projecting outwardly from the device. This device prevents separation of paired shoes, but does not provide for stacking of multiple pairs of shoes and must be used in conjunction with other types of horizontal or vertical shoe organizers if shoe stacking is desired.